A Hero's Fan Club and a Dead King's Decree

Lee Se-yeon suddenly remembered something and felt a surge of annoyance. When Pan-On 1 ended and she had gathered all her courage to ask him, "Be my teammate!", did this jerk Kim Tae-hyun suspect it was a trap back then too?

Lee Se-yeon brightened up. She felt a strange, sudden flutter of joy over something so trivial.

"Are there actually fans of Tae-hyun among the rankers?" Lee Da-bi asked, looking incredibly fascinated.

The rankers they had encountered so far were usually...

"Kim Tae-hyun! Enemy of my past life—no, enemy of Pan-On 1!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Enemy of my guild!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Enemy of my girlfriend!"

"Wait, why your girlfriend?"

"Because after I lost to you, I got so obsessed with the game that we broke up!"

"Looking at how you act, you probably would've broken up even if you hadn't lost to me..."

"Waaaaaaah!"

...It was normal for them to burn with pure hatred. Yet, here were so many fans.

"It's because there are a lot of newly risen rankers these days," Lee Se-yeon explained simply.

With the successful establishment of the professional league, Pandemonium Online's popularity had skyrocketed tens, even hundreds of times over, causing the player base to explode. The increase was so massive that the game felt visibly crowded. Naturally, the number of rankers had surged as well!

Players who had previously played quietly without revealing themselves, remained in the lower tiers, or had just reached the high-level range were now emerging in droves. Thanks to players diving in from all corners of the globe, the ranker pool was expanding at an astronomical rate.

And a significant portion of those new rankers were players who had started playing Pandemonium Online after watching Tae-hyun.

"Since they never played Pan-On 1, they've never been victimized by Kim Tae-hyun. That's why many of them are genuine fans."

"My goodness, such a phenomenon actually exists!" Lee Da-bi marveled.

"Tae-hyun, aren't you happy?"

"Not particularly. Why?"

"Because other people are finally acknowledging you."

Tae-hyun had never really cared about receiving acknowledgment from others. That was the kind of thing Cain obsessed over... But he had no intention of throwing cold water on Lee Da-bi when she looked so genuinely happy.

"Sure, sure." Tae-hyun turned to the rankers and spoke. "Hey, praise Da-bi too."

"Huh?"

The rankers were taken aback. But it wasn't like they couldn't do it. Usually, fans of Tae-hyun were also fans of Team KL. They liked almost everyone on the team. Except Cain.

"Uh... Player Lee Da-bi is also a truly amazing player. We've been watching your matches closely!"

"The Guild Master of Power Warrior, the greatest guild in Pan-On!"

"The mediator of Team KL!"

Lee Da-bi's face flushed bright red, and she quickly hid behind Tae-hyun's back. Lee Se-yeon slapped Tae-hyun on the back.

"??"

Having safely returned to The Valley, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. For starters, they were now officially at war with the Erangs Kingdom!

Of course, their direct enemy was the 1st Prince of Erangse, but as the first prince, the sheer number of soldiers he could mobilize was no joke. The Erangs Kingdom was renowned as one of the strongest and most prosperous central kingdoms on the continent. Even if they only counted the 1st Prince's personal forces, they would easily surpass Tae-hyun's Atali Kingdom or the Guild Alliance's forces in the Auston Kingdom.

For the first time in a long while, a strategy meeting was held in The Valley. The NPCs of the Archisus Order gathered!

"I'd prefer it if he was too busy fighting the Second or Third Prince to pay attention to us, but that seems unlikely."

"Why do you think so, Your Holiness?"

"The way the 1st Prince glared at me was the look of someone staring at a mortal enemy," Tae-hyun replied simply.

The grudge the 1st Prince held was extraordinary! He had despised Tae-hyun for a long time, and now that Tae-hyun had essentially abducted the King, the prince would undoubtedly seek a life-or-death showdown.

"Let us fight, Your Holiness! Lord Archisus will surely protect us!" Galakpad roared, slamming his staff against the floor.

Tae-hyun pretended not to hear him. He highly doubted Archisus would protect them.

"Honestly, The Valley should be fine, but the rest of the kingdom is the problem."

The Valley was an absolute, impenetrable fortress that no army could breach, but the rest of the kingdom would be difficult to defend if invaded. Unlike the Guild Alliance, they couldn't just employ hit-and-run tactics. The knights under the 1st Prince's command were formidable foes.

"How about issuing commands in the name of the King of Erance?"

"How so?" Tae-hyun asked, puzzled.

The King of Erance was dead. No one else knew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this yet, but a dead man couldn't exactly issue royal decrees.

"Since he has already passed away, wouldn't it be fine to borrow his name?"

"...?"

Listening from the side, Lee Se-yeon tilted her head. Wait. This is a holy order, right? Not a gathering of Necromancers?

"Hmm... Pelmas. Explain in detail."

"Since no one knows he's dead, if we just insist the orders came from him, who could possibly dispute it...?"

"Oh..." Tae-hyun was impressed. To think Pelmas could come up with such a useful idea!

"Come to think of it, if we're ever in danger of getting caught, I could just ask Lee Se-yeon to cast Undead Rise on him."

"Are you seriously suggesting... Wait. Is that actually possible?" Lee Se-yeon, initially dumbfounded, paused. When she thought about it, it actually made sense. Indeed, if she cast Undead Rise on a king, the experience points would be astronomical! As a Necromancer player, this was an opportunity she absolutely could not pass up.

"Are you really okay with letting me have that?"

"It's not like I can do it anyway." Tae-hyun's dark magic skills had all been wiped out, so he couldn't raise the King's corpse even if he wanted to.

"Besides, you're helping me with my quest right now. Consider this a token of my appreciation."

"...Kim Tae-hyun...!" Touched, Lee Se-yeon tightly grasped Tae-hyun's hand. The atmosphere was undeniably heartwarming, but the actual content of their conversation was utterly horrifying.

"Excellent. First, we'll borrow the King's name to spread rumors throughout the Erangs Kingdom."

Tae-hyun possessed immense Reputation, various titles, and a high-level Speech skill. If he spread rumors using those as a foundation, the Erangs Kingdom would inevitably be shaken to its core. And if they absolutely needed the King to make a physical appearance later...

They could just summon him using undead skills!

If we disguise ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him well, it might actually work.

Tae-hyun's declaration shook the Erangs Kingdom to its foundations. Upon hearing that the 1st Prince had made a covenant with the Hungry Chaos and imprisoned His Majesty the King, the noble NPCs were utterly horrified.

"To think such a wicked man exists in this world!"

"But could it not be a lie?"

"The King of the Atali Kingdom is a hero among heroes. There is no way he would utter such falsehoods..."

"But he is our Prince..."

The 1st Prince was driven to the brink of madness, but there was nothing he could do.

"This is a misunderstanding! That wicked bastard has abducted my father! We must attack the Atali Kingdom immediately to rescue him!"

The 1st Prince appealed not only to the nobles but also to his brothers. However, things did not go smoothly.

"He claimed he was taking good care of Father, but as expected, Brother was keeping him locked up."

"There can only be one reason why he would imprison him!"

"Didn't he secretly steal the crown and the sword, only to pin the blame on the King of Atali?"

The princes had never been particularly close to begin with. With such massive rumors exploding, the other princes began contemplating whether they should simply cut ties with their eldest brother. Getting dragged into the mud would only ruin their own images and cost them the support of the nobles...

Above all, the 1st Prince himself could not afford to leave his brothers alone.

"To receive the sword and crown from Father, I must crush all the others..."

The 1st Prince still believed in the fake quest Tae-hyun had given him. Everyone believed the King was still alive. As a result, quests began erupting from each prince's faction. It was pure, unadulterated chaos!

Players were left utterly bewildered, not knowing which side to join.

Whether to side with the Auston Kingdom, the Atali Kingdom, the Smith-led White Knight, or the Erangs Kingdom... and if they chose the Erangs Kingdom, which prince's faction to join...

The Central Continent of Pandemonium Online was changing so rapidly that it felt like a completely different world every time one blinked.

"Kim Tae-hyun, we're rooting for you!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

It's honestly disconcerting to see them act so out of character.

Tae-hyun felt deeply uncomfortable. It wasn't just the newly risen rankers; even the old rankers who used to glare at him whenever they crossed paths were now cheering him on. He could see right through their intentions.

They might hate Kim Tae-hyun, but when it comes to these massive quests, he's a sure bet.

No one has ever seen him fail a quest like this.

What a bunch of shameless opportunists.

Rankers, by nature, had to be somewhat thick-skinned. They needed to be able to fight like enemies yesterday, only to act like best friends today as if nothing had happened.

...But even Tae-hyun was left dumbfounded by the next development.

"Aha, Player Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Congratulations on this quest!"

The Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild had actually sent representatives! The visiting guild members were grinning from ear to ear.

To think Kim Tae-hyun is going to fight the Erangs Kingdom for us!

He actually does something praiseworthy once in a while!

Both guilds had been utterly battered by the Erangs Kingdom and the White Knight, leaving them completely overwhelmed. If even one of those threats backed off, they would finally have room to breathe.

"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

"The Hero of Pan-On!"

"Keep shouting, and I'll attack your guilds next."

"......"

"......"

The guild members instantly shut their mouths. They knew Tae-hyun was entirely capable of carrying out his threat.

Hmm.

Currently, Tae-hyun had also received several quests related to the Erangs Kingdom. One was to retrieve the crown and the sword. The other was to restore order to the Erangs Kingdom. However, the latter required him to choose and support one of the princes.

...Is there even a single prince worth helping?

Well, I still need to finish my class quest anyway.

His work on leveling up his singing and magic skills was finally nearing its final stages. If he worked on them alongside the Erangs Kingdom quests, he would surely be able to clear them together!

"Alright! Everyone, follow me!"

"Waaaaaaah!"

As Tae-hyun shouted, all the rankers present cheered in unison. What kind of spectacular quest would Kim Tae-hyun show them this time?

"......"

"......"

"No, seriously... shouldn't we just leave this kind of trash quest to other people...?"

"Why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are we the ones doing this...?"

The rankers grumbled as they hauled heavy boulders. Yes, they were currently building a fortress. After all, wasn't defense the absolute foundation of any quest?